In May, six US senators asked the judiciary to investigate the rejection because they suspected a violation of antitrust law. “We intend to cooperate fully with this investigation,” assured Greg Maffei, president of Liberty Media.
After months of consideration, the Formula 1 management at the end of January clearly rejected the entry of Michael Andretti’s racing team in the series next year. The world association FIA had previously advertised starting places for two other racing teams and supported Andretti’s efforts. A tough process and a fierce dispute of opinion followed, including with the current ten Formula 1 teams.
Racing teams view expansion critically
The management of the racing series came to the conclusion that an eleventh team from next year would not add any value. The current racing teams are already critical of expanding the field of participants because they would then have to share the billions in revenue with another team. Maffei now said that Liberty Media is open to new participants who apply and may be admitted if certain requirements are met.
Formula 1 justified its rejection of the 2025 plan with the major engine regulation reform that will take effect in 2026. Building a car and engine for just one year and thus being competitive, and then producing a completely new engine for 2026, was considered to be practically hopeless. Formula 1 still sees an opportunity for Andretti to get involved, but only in four years. Then General Motors wants to cooperate with Andretti in the racing series as an independent engine supplier.
